UK Crypto Exchange Lykke Suspends Trading Post $22 Million Exploit

• The security precautions put in place by crypto exchanges are called into question.
• Lykke CEO informed customers that the firm has taken all necessary steps to investigate.

Following what seems to be the theft of $22 million in a cyberattack, UK-based crypto exchange Lykke has decided to cease its trading services. The security precautions put in place by crypto exchanges are called into question by this upheaval in the crypto sector.

After the well-known web investigator SomaXBT uncovered “unauthorised access” to Lykke’s platform, the company came clean about it. Taylor Monahan, a developer of MetaMask and an expert in crypto defense, claims that this event caused $22 million in questionable withdrawals.

Investigation Underway

Curiously, the incident occurred only a few days after the exchange suspended all platform trading activity in response to first signs of illegal access. Among the cryptocurrencies highlighted by onchain data was a large amount of Bitcoin, along with Ether, Litecoins, Bitcoin Cash, and many more.

It is common practice for hackers to use several accounts to launder money, therefore after the attack the stolen Ether was traded for DAI stablecoin. Despite several complaints about having empty account balances, Lykke was quick to react by announcing that its platform was undergoing maintenance and assuring its users that their funds were safe.

Moreover, Lykke CEO Richard Olsen informed customers via email that the firm has taken all necessary steps to investigate the security compromise and has recognized the problem.

Crypto exchanges have been the target of hackers before. The security challenges that impact the crypto market were highlighted recently when DMM Bitcoin, another cryptocurrency exchange, said that it had been hacked and had lost $320 million.

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